ED to withdraw lookout notice against Moin Querashi's wife, daughter

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday told the Delhi High Court that it will withdraw the lookout circular notice against wife and daughter of meat exporter Moin Qureshi within a week.

Earlier in the day, a Delhi Court sent Qureshi for 14 days judicial custody in the money laundering case.

On September 5, the Delhi High Court heard a plea challenging the look-out notice issued against Qureshi's kin.

Qureshi, who was arrested on August 25, under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), after he was not cooperating in the probe, is presently in ED's custody.

Earlier last month, Qureshi challenged his arrest in the Delhi High Court, to which the court issued a notice to the ED and sought their response within five days.

A bench of justices Siddharth Mridul and Nazmi Waziri had issued a notice to the government and the ED, asking them to file the reply within five days.

The controversial meat exporter, Qureshi, was arrested on August 25 and sent to five-day custody of the ED by a trial court the next day for a thorough investigation in the case against him and others.

During the hearing, advocate R.K. Handoo, appearing for Qureshi, contended that he had been illegally detained by the ED.

He claimed that Qureshi had been directly arrested when he was called for questioning and was not informed about the grounds of arrest.

Central Government standing counsel Anil Soni, who also appeared for the ED, said that there was due compliance of the Constitution mandate regarding informing a person about his arrest.

The bench, however, said a person cannot be taken into custody without telling him the grounds and giving him an effective legal aid.

"Information is not just to make a person read the grounds of arrest. You have to give him a copy of it," the bench said and asked the Centre and ED to show the official records pertaining to the arrest on the next date of hearing on September 13.